Special thank you to Peggy and the team at Geauga Medical Center for donating a much needed infant blood pressure cuff for the in country medical team in Korah, Ethiopia!
You guys rock!!!!
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Thank You!
1.24.2013
Scouting Trip to Korah
"This garbage dump is so much
more than a place that holds trash. It is a place where the people who come
start to believe that they are the very garbage they are there to collect.”
Destination;
Korah Dump, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Korah
is a community that sits on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia next to the
city garbage dump. The population of this once small community of lepers, has swelled to approximately 100,000
people. Many lepers, HIV/AIDS patients, orphans and widows struggle to survive
in this community. People in Korah are forced to scavenge from the garbage dump
for scraps of food to eat or plastics to sell for small amounts of money. The
dump is a dangerous place – children have even been run over by the garbage
trucks in their hurry to get to the “freshest” garbage first. Often, children
are kept out of school so they can help dig in the dump or because there is no
money for education. Sickness and infection run rampant in this community,
deepening the problems the children face every day. The name Korah literally
means “cursed”.
“Imagine arriving in
a place where the smell of garbage lingers in the air, but the smiles of
children running to greet you make you forget about the smell. You see what
seems like a disproportionate amount of handicapped people and the sheer number
of women selling overripe bananas on the street jumps out at you. You notice
that the asphalt ends and it is bumpy dirt roads in all directions. You also
see a number of young men just hanging out with nothing to do, because there is
no work in the area. You have arrived in Korah.”
QUICK
FACTS: ETHIOPIA
Size: 1,127,127 square kilometers - almost twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas
Size: 1,127,127 square kilometers - almost twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas
Population:
76,511,887
Religions:
Muslim, 45-50 percent; Ethiopian Orthodox, 35-40 percent; animist, 12 percent;
other, 3-8 percent
Life expectancy: 49 years
Average annual income: $180 USD
Population below poverty line: 39 percent
Ethnic groups: Oromo, 40 percent; Amhara and Tigre; Sidamo; Shankella; Somali;
Afar; and Gurage
People living with HIV/AIDS: 4.4 percent, adult prevalence rate
(Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook 2008; The World Bank 2006)
(Source: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook 2008; The World Bank 2006)
The Need
“We had just come from a woman's house down the hill in
Korah. She was house bound because she had lost her leg. She had stepped on
something sharp in the dump while she was scavenging and didn't have the money
to get her foot treated for the wound. That foot wound infected her leg and
eventually turned into gangrene. She became very ill and had to have her leg
amputated as a result. It is maddening that such a simple thing like a cut foot
ends up taking someone's leg and ultimately, their livelihood. That would never
happen here in America, yet it happens every day in Ethiopia. My friend Abbey,
who is a nurse, was with me on this trip and EVERY wound she cared for was a
foot wound. Every single one. You can't imagine the types of plastic shoes that
people walk through the dump in - they are completely unprotected. People
contract HIV by stepping on needles that have been used to treat an infected
person. People wear bloody clothes that they find in the dump from hospitals.
They walk through all sorts of feces and bacteria. This garbage dump is so much
more than a place that holds trash. It is a place where the people who come
start to believe that they are the very garbage they are there to collect.”
(Source: Children’s’ Hope Chest, The
Garbage Dump…aka Hell on Earth)
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Lori Says...
The highlight of this trip for me was our visit to a
children’s nutrition center.
The center is a small two story open air building in the
wooded hills outside San Salvador. It is
run by a Catholic nun working outside the church (read as… on her own without church
support.
Her name is Sister Esperenza…”Sister Hope”…fitting for a
woman who is providing hope for children who otherwise could not even dream of
a full belly.
After welcoming us and giving us a tour Sister Esperenza modestly described to our group how during the civil war in El Salvador she found 12 small children alone in the woods. They had been left behind in the chaos as their parents either scrambled to escape the fighting or were killed. The children were starving and surely about to die themselves. While she had little to eat herself she took them to her bullet riddled house and fed them.
Years later the center now serves to feed 112 children who
represent the poorest most vulnerable children in a country plagued by devastating
poverty and crime.
The children come five days a week where they are fed nutritious meals, provided with pre school and kindergarten instruction as well as home work supervision. I shudder to think
In addition to the privilege of meeting Sister Esperenza we were permitted to meet the children there that day. They were a group of twelve of the most beautiful and happy children I think I’ve ever seen. They ranged in age of perhaps 3 to 12 though none looked much older than about five or six; their stunted growth a result of the effects of malnourishment.
We took Polaroid pictures and gave each child a photo (this is a GREAT ice breaker with kids and we used this tact all week to help children past any fear they had when seeing our doctors.) The children quickly warmed to us and we interacted through smiles, high fives and a few sublime hugs.
Before we left we presented Sister Esperanza with several
suitcases full of donations. Our meager
offering moved her to tears. She hugged
me and thanked our group for showing compassion for their efforts, which then
left me in tears.
I wished we had more.
I wished we had more.
Finally we gave a small stuffed animal to each child. The new toys prompted squeals of joy from the
thankful children. But as we turned to leave lunch was being set on the table…
And the toys were quickly set aside…
as 12 hungry children turned with urgency to their food.
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Christi Says...
8.15.2012
Today was our last day of work in Zaragoza. We have been here three days and I know this
will be something I remember as one of the best experiences I have ever had.
Today I have…
Treated patients in unique
situations
Laughed—more
times than I can count
Cried—three
times
Experienced
my first earthquake
Felt
helpless
Felt that I
had the support of everyone around me
Become
closer to those with whom I am already close
Felt that I
helped someone
Reunited with old friends.
Made friends that I know I will
have forever
Re-learned a language, with much
help from my friends
Most importantly, I have learned that people are the same
wherever you go.
They have the same basic needs, dreams, illnesses, and behaviors. They laugh, they cry, they become ill, they need support and empathy.
They have the same basic needs, dreams, illnesses, and behaviors. They laugh, they cry, they become ill, they need support and empathy.
I have to say that I was super nervous prior to coming to El
Salvador. Not about the travel or the
country. That was actually what I was initially most excited about. Many people had worries about the food, the
people, the environment, catching typhoid or dengue… I was not worried about
these types of things. New cultural
experiences are exciting to me rather than being scary.
My fear was that of being in an environment where I know no
one, I don’t speak the language, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to help in an
environment where I am expected to do so.
Today, I felt that I have been relieved of these fears.
For the past three days, I have been hugged, I have seen and shed tears, I have laughed with my patients and partners, have been told “gracias para todo,” and have said “como se dice ???” about a thousand times. I received just as much empathy and understanding.
For the past three days, I have been hugged, I have seen and shed tears, I have laughed with my patients and partners, have been told “gracias para todo,” and have said “como se dice ???” about a thousand times. I received just as much empathy and understanding.
A la cuidad Zaragoza y mis amigos…gracias para todo.
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Bob Says...
On our third clinical day in El Salvador we left the
monastery sanctuary after a good breakfast.
Everyone was anxious to get to our next “clinic” site and finish our
last day of patient contact. We loaded
in to the trucks, buses, and vans and took off.
Up and down winding and steep dirt roads, we came to a school that was quite a huge contrast from the school we visited the day before. This facility was beautiful in comparison to the other facilities we visited.
The children were in uniform, the classrooms had fans, and the bathrooms were clean. The day had the promise to be very comfortable and all around rewarding.
Around lunchtime, our director Rob, stuck his head into my room and told me to grab my bag, “We’re going for a ride”. He seemed to know what he was doing so I asked no questions and hopped in the truck.
After a short discussion of whether or not we needed an armed guard to go where Rob wanted to visit, we took off up and down the winding dirt roads again (with two armed guards). A short distance from the school where we were working, we came to a road that was seemed to be guarded by some young guys in crisp clean clothes, gold chains and serious looks. The guys gave us and our guards a nod and we went up the hill to visit a man that Rob had delivered a wheelchair to a few years before. Rob just wanted to check on the guy.
We approached a small tin shack with the normal number of chickens running around and entered a dark entrance way to find a man lying in bed waiting for us. The man had surgery on his back years ago and was paralyzed from the waist down. He used a catheter to drain his bladder three times daily. This catheter he changed every two years...yes years.
He was very gracious and friendly and even played a song on his guitar that was supplied by MedWish several years back. He lived in this 8’x10’ shack with his wife who was out at work. Dirt floors and tin were all he had, except for that wheelchair and guitar, but he was happy as can be.
(By the way, the view from his “backyard” would rival that of any 4 star resort in the world overlooking the forest and mountains.)
We arranged for some more catheters and jumped back into the truck to go about the rest of our day, but this was the best part of the day for me.
Up and down winding and steep dirt roads, we came to a school that was quite a huge contrast from the school we visited the day before. This facility was beautiful in comparison to the other facilities we visited.
The children were in uniform, the classrooms had fans, and the bathrooms were clean. The day had the promise to be very comfortable and all around rewarding.
Around lunchtime, our director Rob, stuck his head into my room and told me to grab my bag, “We’re going for a ride”. He seemed to know what he was doing so I asked no questions and hopped in the truck.
After a short discussion of whether or not we needed an armed guard to go where Rob wanted to visit, we took off up and down the winding dirt roads again (with two armed guards). A short distance from the school where we were working, we came to a road that was seemed to be guarded by some young guys in crisp clean clothes, gold chains and serious looks. The guys gave us and our guards a nod and we went up the hill to visit a man that Rob had delivered a wheelchair to a few years before. Rob just wanted to check on the guy.
We approached a small tin shack with the normal number of chickens running around and entered a dark entrance way to find a man lying in bed waiting for us. The man had surgery on his back years ago and was paralyzed from the waist down. He used a catheter to drain his bladder three times daily. This catheter he changed every two years...yes years.
He was very gracious and friendly and even played a song on his guitar that was supplied by MedWish several years back. He lived in this 8’x10’ shack with his wife who was out at work. Dirt floors and tin were all he had, except for that wheelchair and guitar, but he was happy as can be.
(By the way, the view from his “backyard” would rival that of any 4 star resort in the world overlooking the forest and mountains.)
We arranged for some more catheters and jumped back into the truck to go about the rest of our day, but this was the best part of the day for me.
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Earthquake
You already knew Team 4M was comprised of movers and shakers but this afternoon we got a little more than we bargained for.
An earthquake just off the coast of San Salvador shook us hard just as we were getting ready for dinner.
No one was hurt and little damage was done. We are told it measured either 5.2 or 5.6. Either way it was strong enough to get our attention.
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